Men's Soccer Begins Training Trip to South Korea

The Harvard men's soccer team will be providing a blog on
GoCrimson.com during the squad's trip to South Korea this week.

Blog Entry No. 1

The Harvard Men’s Soccer Team (HMS) arrived safe and sound
in Seoul, South Korea on Thursday, May 19 after nearly 20 hours of
travel.

Greeted by our tour guide, Chris, and students and affiliates of
Korea University, HMS enjoyed a smooth ride from the airport to
Youngdon Hotel, our home for the next two and a half weeks. On the
ride,members of the team agreed that it was surreal to be able to
board a plane on one side of the world and then be on the complete
opposite in a matter of hours. Despite the distance from home,
however, we could tell that the cultural adjustment would not be
too difficult to make, as Seoul is a modernized city with many of
the same features and amenities as any large American city (the
only striking difference being the blatant disregard for redlights
that our other tour guide, Johnny, informed us right away).

Reaching the hotel at 4 p.m. on Thursday afternoon, HMS unpacked
and changedquickly before heading out on a light jog to fight the
jet lag afflicting our legs. Since weare preparing to play five
games in a 14-day span – competition ranging from club teams
like U-18 FC Seoul to the U-20 South Korea national team –
proper physical preparation is crucial for our athletic success on
the trip. Although we are all looking forward to experiencing South
Korea, this is, first and foremost, a soccer trip and our main goal
collectively is to improve throughout our time in South Korea so
that we can effectively prepare for the upcoming fall season. After
the jog and stretch, we went out for some Italian food and then
walked back to the hotel for some much needed rest.

Friday, the 20th, started off with an early breakfast followed by
our first practice of the trip at 9:30 a.m. As is the case with
most of the fields here, the practice pitch was an artificial turf
surface that played quickly and required properly weighted passes
in order for the session to run smoothly. Johnny told us as the
beginning of the trip that Korean teams train by running up
mountains, implying that our competition will be extremely fit and
well-disciplined. As such, it is important that we adjust to the
surface so that we can control the pace of the game and not allow
the opposing team’s fitness level to dictate the tempo of
play (although this should not be a problem anyway considering our
fitness regimen that has been in place since January). Overall, the
practice was verysuccessful though so the team felt positive
looking ahead to its first match.

After the practice, HMS had the pleasure of attending an elementary
school concert at a local school in Seoul. The concert consisted of
traditional Korean drums played by 9, 10, and 11 year olds. Johnny
advised us that when foreign soccer teams come to visit South
Korea, they are treated to the same concert, except they usually
witness adults perform instead of children. HMS agreed that it was
much more enjoyable watching the children perform, as after the
concert we interacted with them, taking pictures and learning
various Korean drum techniques before going back to the hotel to
rest up before dinner. For dinner, we traveled to the Etaewon
district of Seoul and enjoyed some delicious Korean cuisine (Korean
barbecue and noodle dishes). The food here is by far one of the
best aspects of the trip, as every meal we are provided with
something new and delectable; the consensus being that a quality
Korean barbecue restaurant ought to open up near Cambridge.

Saturday, the 21st, got off to an early start as the team traveled
twenty minutes away from the hotel to the FC Seoul practice
facility to take on U-18 FC Seoul Academy. The academy system in
Korea is not too dissimilar from our youth soccer academy system
dominating the American soccer landscape today. The best players in
SouthKorea play for youth teams of the biggest clubs in the country
such as FC Seoul, which is in fact, the wealthiest and most
successful club in Korea. If the youth player is talented enough,
he has the chance of moving on to the first team where he then has
the best chance to gain exposure to the national team and clubs
from other countries if he plays at a high enough level. From
observing the behavior of the U-18 team, HMS could tell thatyouth
soccer players in Korea take this possibility of professional
soccer very seriously,as they all behaved in a professional-like
manner throughout the warm-up and the game itself. FC Seoul is also
home to a beautiful complex in the middle of a mountainous area in
Seoul so it didn’t require much effort to get up for a game
at such a unique facility. Although HMS is currently experiencing
some injuries, the team was still able to use its superior physical
advantage and overall faster ball movement to come out with a 1-0
win; Baba Omosegbon scored the lone goal scorer of the match. The
score line was actually more like 3-0, but seeing as the linesman
and referees for the match were FC Seoul coaches and players, a few
of the goals happened to fall victim to the offside rule, but no
worries,we’ll take the 1-0 victory with a smile and a nod.
The game was also successful for HMS in terms of exerting the
possession-based style of play that fits with Coach Junot’s
philosophy of composed, attacking soccer. Moreover, our defense
seems to be taking shape as well, as Richard Smith and Kevin
Harrington did a sound job of limiting opportunities in the center
of the park with Brett Conrad easily saving the few shots thatcame
his way on route to a comfortable shutout. After the game, HMS
posed for a team photo with FC Seoul before heading back to the
Youngdon Hotel for some free time before the night’s
festivities.

One of the more remarkable aspects of this trip is that HMS has
been sponsored by a group of officials through the ministry of
education in South Korea. They have been very enthusiastic in
showing us around Seoul and making sure that we feel comfortableas
we settle for a short time into a new culture in a drastically
different time zone. Furthermore, they have also been polite enough
to promise us events/excursions throughout the city, one of which
consisted of watching the FC Seoul first team play on Saturday
night in the Seoul World Cup Stadium, home to 2002 World Cup
matches. Although FC Seoul unfortunately lost the game 2-0, the
event was more about experiencing the stadium than anything else.
Members of the team agreed that the 66,806-seat stadium was a sight
to behold, as it not only looked incredible with its massive
overhang enveloping the seating and field (reminiscent of
contracting roof-style NFL stadiums in America), but also felt
rather remarkable due to the atmosphere created bythe 20,000
screaming fans. In particular, the FC Seoul support section proved
immensely entertaining, as they didn’t stop cheering the
entire time. The other striking part of the stadium was that it
consisted of a shopping plaza, food court, and restaurant/bar
areawithin the stadium. From the moment HMS started walking from
the parking lot to our seats, we could tell that the arena felt
distinct so it came as no surprise that it had been home to the
biggest sporting event in the world nearly ten years ago.

On Sunday the 22nd, HMS journeyed from Seoul to the Gwacheon
National Science Museum. Since we’ve been lucky enough to
have supporters in South Korea through the ministry of education
that have played an integral role in allowing us to come to Seoul,
HMS decided to give back by spending a few days teaching scientific
subjects to children from the Seoul area. Arriving at the museum at
9 a.m., the team was separated into groups of two. Each group of
two then received a group of 10-15 South Korean children. Some of
the different subjects that HMS instructed the children on included
the functioning of the human brain, cloud formation, shapes of
molecules, detection of light, and Pascal’s triangle.
Although the event was in part, an educational service, it soon
turned into more fun than anything, as each group of two from the
team led their school children through the museum, teaching their
appointed topic while still enjoying the various museum exhibits.
Everybody on the team concurred that their was something
invigorating about spending time with children of a different
culture, teaching them different scientific topics if only for a
day. Really, all that it required was putting yourself out there
and being a kid for a day, which can be a hell of a lot of fun
considering the grown-up responsibility that being a Harvard
student-athlete inherently places on an individual. One of the
highlights of the day included leading the children through a jog
and a stretch, which soon transformed into a series of tag-based
games that lasted for over an hour. After this physical exercise,
HMS then educated the children on a series of different scientific
construction projects (e.g. scientific models such as axis of
rotation kits, cloud shapes, molecules conformations, etc.), which
seemed to help the children learn more than the lecturing component
of the afternoon, as it was more hands-on and therefore more
memorable. Unfortunately, the event had to end at some point and as
it did, the team traveled back to the hotel where we dined on yet
some more delicious Korean barbecue before calling it a day.

As for the rest of the trip, we have four more matches on our hands
and of course, some more cultural immersion as well. We’ll be
sure to document the experience as it moves along.